Door key fastener



Nov. 7, 1950 G. KINDLER DOOR KEY FASTENER Filed Dec. 23, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 /y INVENTOR.

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Nov. 7, 1950 G. KINDLER DOOR KEY FASTENER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 23, 1946 INVENTOR. 6250/6615 ff/NDL 2 I flrrafi/vfx Patented Nov. 7, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DOOR KEY FASTENER George Kindler, St. Louis, Mo.

Application December 23, 1946, Serial No. 718,020

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to an indoor key fastener.

The primary object of my invention is to provide a device to be attached to the inner wall of a door having a lock provided with an indoor and outdoor hand knob and a key actuated locking bolt, and which device is provided with means to prevent a key inserted indoors into the lock from being retracted either from indoors or outdoors.

Another object of my invention is to provide a device adapted to be attached to the inner wall of a door adjacent the indoor hand knob of the door lock to prevent the retraction of a door key from the door lock either from indoors by children or others, or outdoors by the insertion of a key into the door lock without first having to move a key stop member spanning a key hole in an escutcheon secured to the inner wall of the door, and which key hole is in a line with the aligned key holes in opposite casing walls of the door lock having an encased key actuated locking bolt.

A further object of the invention resides in the provision of a door key fastener that is extremely practical in construction, simple in design, and which can be easily and readily applied to a door without having to remove the present door lock to attach it to the door.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanyin drawings.

The embodiment of theinvention herein disclosed is merely illustrative and may be modified and departed from in many ways such, for instance in design, shape of parts, exact location and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as pointed out in, and limited solely by the appended claim.

Referring to the drawings forming a part of this specification, like characters of reference denote similar parts throughout the several views:

Fig. 1 is an indoor plan view of a door, door casing and a wall and illustrates a door key fastener embodying the features of my invention and its application to the door adjacent the indoor knob.

Fig. 2 is a view illustrating the lock face of a door, the door key lock and the door key fastener, partly in sectional elevation, and showing a key, in full lines, held against full retraction from the door key look by the door key fastener.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of my door key fastener per se.

Fig. 4 is a rear elevation of the door key fastener.

Referring to the drawings, the reference character I designates a portion of a door; 2 designates a door casing member; 3 designates a common door lock of the ward or lever action type which is receivable in a cavity in the narrow face of the door and having the usual latch bar 4 and a lock bolt 5; 6 and I designate the usual outside and inside door knobs; 8 and 9 designate the usual outdoor and indoor key holes in the outer and inner walls of the lock; I0 and II designate door keys shown as inserted into the lock through the outdoor and indoor key holes 8 and 9, respectively.

In carrying out my present invention, I employ a suitable escutcheon l2 having a key hole I3.'

The escutcheon I2 is secured to the inside wall of the door I by suitable fastening devices, such as screws I4, the desired distance below the inner door knob so that the key hole I3 therein will align, or register with the inner'and outer key holes 9 and 8 in the door lock 3.

The escutcheon I2 is provided with an inner recessed face to provide a suitable space I5 between the inner face of the door I and the inside face of the escutcheon I2 when secured to the door I.

A suitable, preferably C-shaped latch or antikey retracting member IB is disposed in the space I5. The member I6 is suitably connected to the suitable, preferably knurled finger nut 20 having a screw threaded connection with the stud H. The nut 20 is forced into home position in tight contact with the washer I9. The nut 20 thus arranged is disposed below the inside door knob I and above the key hole 9 in the escutcheon I2 where it is not conspicuous, and yet convenient to manually turn right and left to move the latch member I6. The nut 20 being so positioned and especially when a key I l is locked in the key lock from the indoor side, it is not convenient for children to remove the key I l as they must first turn the nut 20 to turn the latch member IE to uncover the key hole I3 in the escutcheon to permit the key II to be removed, or retracted from the key look through the escutcheon key hole I3.

The latch, or anti-key retracting member I6 is so shaped as to provide a rearward ofiset portion 2| that engages the front face of the door and that will span, or block the key hole I3 in the escutcheon I2 when the latch member I6 is moved to its operative position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. The dotted lines B show the latch member IS in its non-operative position. The lower end of the offset portion 2| is provided with a forwardly projecting flange engaging theinner face of the escutcheonplate.

When the key I I is inserted into the door look from the indoor side and the latch member I6 has been turned to its operative position to span, or block the escutcheon key hole I3; a key inserted into the lock 3 from the outside can merely push the indoor key I I to a position that the inner end face of the key II will contact the:

portion 2I of the latch I6. The portion 2| of the latch or anti-key retracting memberwill prevent the key I I from'being pushed completely out of the lock 3 and: also prevents the outside key ID from fully entering the lock 3, thus preventing the lock 3 from being opened from the outsideof the door, or the key II being retracted from the indoor'side thereof. 7

It will be apparent that the latch member I5 is so located and'arranged with relation to the inner wall of the key lock that the inner end of the indoor key II cannot be retracted from the indoor keyholein a wall of the lock 3, nor can it be retracted from the key hole I3 of the escutcheon I2." until the latch member I6 has been turned, or moved to uncover the escutcheon key hole I3.

From the foregoing description, it will be clearly apparent that I have provided a door key fastener that'can be economicallysecured to the inner wall of a door to prevent an indoor key being retracted fully from the door lock, or retracted from the escutcheon key hole which is in register and alignment with the key holes in the door lock.

The many advantages of'the herein described 4 invention will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art to which it appertains;

' What I claim is:

The combination of an escutcheon plate having a key hole adapted to be secured to the inside of a door, an anti-key retracting member pivotally connected at its upper end to the plate directly above and spaced from the top of the key hole. capable. of swinging movement, said member having a depending laterally curved rearwardly offset portion adapted to slidably engage with the inside face of the door and at one side of the key hole in the escutcheon plate and having a horizontally disposed lower end portion adapted to span the lower end of the key hole to prevent retraction of the forward extremity of akey, from a door look from the inside of the door and to prevent the key from being entirely pushed out of the door lock from the outside of the door, and the horizontally disposed lower end portion of-the anti-key retracting member having a forwardly projecting flange at the lower edge portion thereof adapted for sliding engagement with the inside face of the escutcheon plate to prevent rearward displacement of the curved portion of the anti-key retracting member, and means for manually arcuately oscillating the'last mentioned member.

GED'RGE KINDLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED. STATES, PA'IENTS' 

